Researcher discovers first 'vegetarian' shark; see video

A University of California researcher, Samantha Leigh, in a study examining a number of Panhandle sharks - a sort of hammerhead shark - found that these marine animals actively feed on algae and are able to digest them easily. Thus, this animal became the first "vegetarian" shark, according to the scientific journal Earth Touch News.

The scientist decided to investigate the digestive capacity of these marine animals after some researchers found seaweed in the stomach of several sharks of this species in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the finding occurred in 2007, the cause was never entirely clear.

In the course of her experiment, Leigh captured several Panamanian hammerhead sharks. With the intention of submitting them to a diet based on 90% of seaweed marked with carbon-13 (allowing to know if the nutrients of the algae are absorbed in the blood and tissues), and thus to prove the capacity of these animals to obtain nutrients and to decompose the vegetable food.

The results of the study were very positive: the experiment demonstrated that sharks not only eat algae but are also able to absorb their nutrients.

Leigh found that 50% of all algae consumed were digested and decomposed by the gut, while the rest simply was excreted.

The information is from the Sputnik News Agency